VIDEO EXTRA: Hate-crime victim buried in Brockton after funeral

Thursday

Jan 29, 2009 at 12:01 AMJan 29, 2009 at 8:32 PM

Dozens of mourners were at St. Edith Stein Church in Brockton this morning for the funeral Mass for Arlindo Goncalves, a 72-year-old city man who was shot to death last week during a killing spree that authorities said was motivated by racism. Burial followed in Melrose Cemetery.

Maria Papadopoulos

The day before his murder, Arlindo Goncalves found a trumpet while collecting cans on a city street and brought it back to the MainSpring shelter, where friends say he often stayed.

The 72-year-old Goncalves then gave the trumpet to another man, took out his keyboard, and the two men played music outside in the cold as people waited for the shelter to open its doors, said Marci Giannini, who stays at the shelter.

“He didn’t bother anybody, nicest person,” Giannini, 33, said Wednesday morning as she reminisced about the soft-spoken Cape Verdean man she had often seen at the shelter.

She was among more than 50 mourners at St. Edith Stein Church in Brockton for the funeral Mass for Goncalves, who was shot to death last week during a killing spree that authorities said was motivated by racism.

As pallbearers carried his black casket into the church on Wednesday, Goncalves’ family quietly took their seats in the front pews.

Wearing a white head scarf, Goncalves’ wife, Genoveva Dias, sobbed loudly as she huddled close to her family.

The Rev. Lino Pereira conducted the hour-long Mass, which began at 10 a.m., entirely in Cape Verdean Creole. Mona Pires of Bridgewater sang Cape Verdean hymns throughout the Mass.

At one point, mourners turned to one another and shook hands, a Catholic Mass tradition.

Following the Mass, Pereira said he has been trying to provide spiritual support to a community in pain that is questioning the violence.

“It’s something so hurtful to us, so I try to not just support the community, but to ask them to answer all these questions with love ... to live with differences,” Pereira said.

Later, as snow blanketed graves at Melrose Cemetery, mourners gathered under large umbrellas and around Goncalves’ gravesite. Bright red roses were among the flowers placed on his casket, along with a red-and-gold ribbon bearing the name, “Arlindo.”

Wails of grief could be heard from Goncalves’ family members, particularly from his wife. Several people put their arms around her to comfort her.

“He just was a happy man, you know, didn’t need much to make him happy,” said Wenonah Bowen, 36, a mourner who stays at MainSpring shelter.

She and Giannini attended the funeral together because last week’s violence struck too close to home, she said.

Goncalves had been pushing a shopping cart filled with cans seconds before he was gunned down on Clinton Street.

“It could have been any one of us,” Bowen said.

On Jan. 21, Selma Goncalves, 20, was also shot and killed, and her sister was critically wounded in the attack and is recovering in a Boston hospital. A funeral Mass for Selma Goncalves is planned for 10 a.m. on Friday at St. Edith Stein Church.

The accused gunman, Keith Luke, 22, of Brockton, is charged with murder, rape and hate crimes.

The day before his murder, Arlindo Goncalves found a trumpet while collecting cans on a city street and brought it back to the MainSpring shelter, where friends say he often stayed.
The 72-year-old Goncalves then gave the trumpet to another man, took out his keyboard, and the two men played music outside in the cold as people waited for the shelter to open its doors, said Marci Giannini, who stays at the shelter.
“He didn’t bother anybody, nicest person,” Giannini, 33, said Wednesday morning as she reminisced about the soft-spoken Cape Verdean man she had often seen at the shelter.
She was among more than 50 mourners at St. Edith Stein Church in Brockton for the funeral Mass for Goncalves, who was shot to death last week during a killing spree that authorities said was motivated by racism.
As pallbearers carried his black casket into the church on Wednesday, Goncalves’ family quietly took their seats in the front pews.
Wearing a white head scarf, Goncalves’ wife, Genoveva Dias, sobbed loudly as she huddled close to her family.
The Rev. Lino Pereira conducted the hour-long Mass, which began at 10 a.m., entirely in Cape Verdean Creole. Mona Pires of Bridgewater sang Cape Verdean hymns throughout the Mass.
At one point, mourners turned to one another and shook hands, a Catholic Mass tradition.
Following the Mass, Pereira said he has been trying to provide spiritual support to a community in pain that is questioning the violence.
“It’s something so hurtful to us, so I try to not just support the community, but to ask them to answer all these questions with love ... to live with differences,” Pereira said.
Later, as snow blanketed graves at Melrose Cemetery, mourners gathered under large umbrellas and around Goncalves’ gravesite. Bright red roses were among the flowers placed on his casket, along with a red-and-gold ribbon bearing the name, “Arlindo.”
Wails of grief could be heard from Goncalves’ family members, particularly from his wife. Several people put their arms around her to comfort her.
“He just was a happy man, you know, didn’t need much to make him happy,” said Wenonah Bowen, 36, a mourner who stays at MainSpring shelter.
She and Giannini attended the funeral together because last week’s violence struck too close to home, she said.
Goncalves had been pushing a shopping cart filled with cans seconds before he was gunned down on Clinton Street.
“It could have been any one of us,” Bowen said.
On Jan. 21, Selma Goncalves, 20, was also shot and killed, and her sister was critically wounded in the attack and is recovering in a Boston hospital. A funeral Mass for Selma Goncalves is planned for 10 a.m. on Friday at St. Edith Stein Church.
The accused gunman, Keith Luke, 22, of Brockton, is charged with murder, rape and hate crimes.